THE WELL-DIGGER’S DAUGHTER sees acclaimed actor Daniel Auteuil (Hidden, A Heart in Winter, La Reine Margot) return to Marcel Pagnol’s work following his starring roles in the hugely successful film adaptations of the author’s books: Jean De Florette and Manon des Sources. Auteuil makes his directorial debut with THE WELL-DIGGER’S DAUGHTER, he also adapted Pagnol’s novel for the screen and stars as Pascal Amoretti, the well-digger. The film also stars Kad Merad (The Chorus), Sabine Azema (Smoking/No Smoking), Nicolas Duvauchelle (White Material, Beau Travail) and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) as the title character. The film is produced by Alain Sarde and Jérôme Seydoux and features an original score by Alexandre Desplat (The Queen, The King’s Speech, The Tree of Life).

THE WELL-DIGGER’S DAUGHTER will have its UK Premiere, attended by Daniel Auteuil, at the Ciné Lumière as part of the French Film Festival UK on 11 November 2011. The film will be released exclusively in London at the Ciné Lumière on 9 December 2011 and in selected across the UK.

Provence, 1914. As she cuts across the fields to take her father his lunch, Patricia Amoretti meets Jacques Mazel. She is eighteen, he is twenty-six. She is pretty, with the fine manners of a young lady; he is a fighter pilot and a handsome young man. A full moon will do the rest on their second meeting. There won’t be a third rendezvous: Jacques is sent to the Front. Patricia finds herself pregnant. The boy’s rich parents accuse her of blackmail. Patricia and her father, the well-digger, will alone have the joy of welcoming her child. A joy that the Mazels will soon envy and seek to share when Jacques goes missing in action…

UK Premiere with special thanks to UniFrance.

Release date: 9 December 2011

Certificate: TBC

Running time: 107 minutes

Images: www.image.net

For further information, please contact:

Sophie Glover

Tel: + 44 20 7462 4415 / Sophie.glover@pathe-uk.com

The film stars Academy Award-winners Meryl Streep as Lady Thatcher and Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher.  Their young selves are played by Alexandra Roach and Harry Lloyd.   The rest of the cast of family and friends, politicians and advisers, is made up of the very best of British acting talent, including: Olivia Colman, Anthony Head, Richard E Grant, Iain Glen, Susan Brown, Nicholas Farrell, Roger Allam and Michael Pennington.

 

The film is written by award-winning writer Abi Morgan (The Hour, Sex Traffic, Brick Lane, White Girl), directed by Phyllida Lloyd CBE (Mamma Mia) and produced by Damian Jones (The History Boys, Adulthood). It is executive produced by Francois Ivernel and Cameron McCracken for Pathé, by Tessa Ross for Film4 and by Adam Kulick for Goldcrest.

 

The film is a Pathé, Film4, UK Film Council presentation with the participation of Canal+ and Cine Cinema in association with Goldcrest Film Production LLP of a DJ Films Production.

 

Fox will distribute the film in the UK on behalf of Pathé.

 

Release date: 6 January, 2012

Certificate and running time: TBC

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 

Jonathan Rutter / Phil Cairns

Tel: + 44 20 7292 8330

firstname.surname@premierpr.com

"The prospect of exploring the swathe cut through history by this remarkable woman is
a daunting and exciting challenge. I am trying
to approach the role with as much zeal, fervour
and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses - I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own!"
MERYL STREEP

Pathé announces that principal photography has begun on THE IRON LADY. Written by award-winning writer Abi Morgan (Sex Traffic, Brick Lane, White Girl), directed by Phyllida Lloyd CBE (Mamma Mia) and produced by Damian Jones (The History Boys, Adulthood). The film will be executive produced by Francois Ivernel and Cameron McCracken for Pathé, by Tessa Ross for Film4 and by Adam Kulick for Goldcrest.

THE IRON LADY tells the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.

The film stars Academy Award-winners Meryl Streep as Lady Thatcher and Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher. Their young selves are played by Alexandra Roach and Harry Lloyd. The rest of the cast of family and friends, politicians and advisers, is made up of the very best of British acting talent, including: Olivia Colman, Nicholas Farrell, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head, Julian Wadham, Pip Torrens, Nick Dunning, Richard E Grant, David Westhead, Angus Wright and John Sessions.

The fllm is a Pathé, Film4, UK Film Council presentaton with the partcipaton of Canal+ and Cine Cinema in associaton with Goldcrest Film Producton LLP of a DJ Films Producton.

Pathé will distribute the film in France; and Fox will distribute the film in the UK on behalf of Pathé.

Pathé Internatonal will handle Internatonal sales.

Shooting began on location in the UK on 31st January 2011

http://theironladymovie.co.uk/blog/

127 HOURS stars Golden Globe winner James Franco (Milk) as Aron Ralston.  Boyle, the Academy Award® winning director of 2008’s Best Picture, Slumdog Millionaire is reunited with Academy Award® winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and Academy Award® winning producer Christian Colson.
 
 
REACTIONS FROM THE CAST AND FILMMAKERS
 
“It feels great to be nominated and it is such an honour to be in the company of my fellow nominees. I'm especially proud of Danny Boyle and the whole team behind 127 Hours for their recognition by the Academy. Danny is such a wonderful entertainer and collaborator and to see the film nominated for Best Picture, Score, Screenplay, Song and Editing is thrilling.” JAMES FRANCO
 
 
"To be nominated for an Academy Award is a highlight in any career and I am delighted for each of our individual nominees and incredibly proud of them all. But more important than individual kudos,  this haul of six nominations is a huge stamp of approval from the Academy for the film itself. The picture expands into wide release in North America this weekend  - and is rolled out internationally over the coming weeks  - and  these nominations will encourage audiences all over the world to go and see the film - and in particular James Franco's unmissable performance. This is an incredibly proud and happy day for all of us who worked on the film"  CHRISTIAN COLSON
“I’m very honoured and humbled to be recognized by the Academy with these nominations. Working with Danny Boyle is such a remarkable experience, and I’m so fortunate to have had the opportunity to collaborate with him again. I’m immensely grateful to Fox Searchlight for their efforts on this incredible film based on the courageous story of Aron Ralston.”  AR RAHMAN
"I'm absolutely delighted. No matter how many other nominations a film receives, there's nothing quite like an Academy Best Film nomination to make one proud. It's the gold stamp of approval. " SIMON BEAUFOY
 
“I’m thrilled at this recognition by the Academy. Danny Boyle and the team did a wonderful job, creating a truly compelling film." JOHN SMITHSON

127 HOURS stars Golden Globe winner James Franco (Milk) as Aron Ralston.  Boyle, the Academy Award® winning director of 2008’s Best Picture, Slumdog Millionaire is reunited with Academy Award® winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and Academy Award® winning producer Christian Colson.

“The response of the public to the release of 127 Hours in Britain and Ireland has been really wonderful and we are delighted that BAFTA has now so generously recognised the work of some of the many people who made the film, and especially James Franco's extraordinary performance. Many thanks to all the members who acknowledged our film and James, and to BAFTA for their continued support for our work.” - DANNY BOYLE

"It is tremendously exciting to see 127 HOURS recognized by BAFTA - working with Danny, Christian, Simon and the entire crew, was one of the best experiences I have had making a film and I am flattered and humbled by this Best Actor nomination- especially among such an incredible group of talent.” - JAMES FRANCO

"It's wonderful to see 127 Hours being embraced by the British. A nomination from BAFTA means being honoured by many of the very best film makers in the world.  Honestly, there is no higher accolade. Thank you."  - SIMON BEAUFOY

"All of us involved in making the film are hugely proud of these nominations. These are great individual honours of course but more importantly they signify a stamp of approval for the film itself from the industry, which I hope will encourage those members of the public who have not yet seen the film, to do so."  - CHRISTIAN COLSON

127 HOURS is currently number three at the UK box-office in its second week of release and has already taken more than £4,000,000.

Pathé has 2 films nominated at this year's British Independent Film Awards:

AFRICA UNITED - 1 Nomination

Directorial Debut - Debs Gardner Paterson

 

THE ILLUSIONIST - 1 Nomination

Best Technical Achievement (Animation)  - Sylvain Chomet